Chair



March 1969 w. B- PARKER 3,431,021

CHAIR Filed April 5, 1967 Way/Q00 .5 Far/rev INVENTOR ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,431,021 CHAIR Wayland B. Parker, South Boston, Va., assignor to Schlumberger Limited (Schlnmherger N.V.), Houston, Tex., a corporation of the Netherlands Antilles Filed Apr. 5, 1967, Ser. No. 628,742 US. Cl. 297445 Claims Int. Cl. A47c 3/00 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A chair is provided with upwardly extending tubular metal back supporting members. An intricately designed molded plastic back has portions near its upper, outer edge which extend downwardly into mating reception within the tubular back support members. Portions near the lower edge of the molded plastic back have concave surfaces therein for matingly engaging theside of the tubular back support members. This construction provides for the assembly of the structural members of a chair made from dissimilar materials while maintaining continuity in the appearance of the construction.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a chair and, more particularly, to a chair having a molded plastic backrest. Improvements and discoveries in fabricating materials and in molding techniques have resulted in the construction of furniture from plastic materials. In many instances, this construction consists of a molded chair seat or back of a resilient plastic construction, with these parts assembled to a prefabricated steel frame to provide a completed chair which is simple and economical in construction. However, for the most part such chairs are designed for a more or less commercial trade, since the construction does not hide the fact that the chairs are made from plastic and steel. These types of constructing materials and manufacturing techniques have not been applied, however, to more decorative and ornamental types of furniture such as is used in the home, and in particular dining room furniture. From a cost standpoint, it is desirable to use the plastic and prefabricated steel construction in all types of furniture since such construction techniques are economical and produce sturdy furniture. The primary drawback thus far to the use of such construction and materials is the appearance of these materials in home furnishings.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved decorative chair utilizing a molded, plastic construction with a prefabricated steel frame.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, a chair is provided with a seat, front and rear leg members, and a pair of laterally spaced tubular members extending upwardly from the rear leg members. A decorative molded plastic backrest includes short, downwardly extending members on the upper, outer edges of the backrest which are sized to fit within the upwardly extending tubular members. In addition, the backrest has laterally extending portions on its lower, outer edges which are provided with concave surfaces for matingly receiving a side of the upwardly extending tubular members. The plastic backrest also has notched portions therein for concealingly receiving a bracket welded to the upwardly extending metal tubular members.

The novel features of the present invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The present invention, both as to its organization and manner of operation together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by way of illustration and example of an embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the chair base and seat;

FIGURE 2 is a front view of the molded plastic backrest;

FIGURE 3 is a front view of the chair assembly; and

FIG-URE 4 is a detailed view of portions of the molded plastic backrest.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIGURE 1 shows a leg, seat, and back support subassembly of a chair including a front leg assembly 12 which is formed from tubular metal to provide downwardly extending front leg portions 14 and a U-shaped front seat support 16 connecting the leg portions. A back support, leg and bracket assembly 18, includes rear tubular leg members 20 which extend upwardly into back support members 22. A V-brace 24 which provides a rear seat support is welded to the leg and back support members. L-shaped brackets 26 are welded to the inward facing surfaces of the upwardly extending back support members 22. A seat 28 (shown in dotted lines in FIG- URE 1) is positioned over the front and back seat supports 16 and 24. The seat is attached to the seat supports by means of screws or the like (not shown) inserted through the seat support members into the lower side of the seat. The seat may be of any well-known type of seat construction as, for example, a wood frame padded with plastic fillers such as cellulose fiber and polyeurathane foam which are covered with a vinyl material or other type of plastic or leather. Glides 30 are press fitted to the bottom of each of the leg members to provide a sliding surface for the chair and also to permit height adjustment of the legs.

FIGURE 2 shows a plastic backrest which may be molded from any suitable plastic material such as heatresistant, high-impact styrene. The plastic may be colored to provide any suitable decorative color or simulated wood appearance. A wood grain appearance may be pro.- vided in the mold to further simulate the appearance of wood. Intricate designs and embossings may be imparted to the molded back to simulate carved wood. At the upper, outer edges of the back, downwardly extending portions 32 are provided with sized projections 34 for fitting into the upper open end 36 (FIGURE 1) of the tubular back support members 22. The lower, outer edges of the backrest have outwardly extending portions 38 with longitudinal concave surfaces 40 which are substantially semicircularly shaped to fit about one side of the tubular back support members. The concave surface provides a thin terminating edge to the outwardly extending portions 38 of the chair back which tends to blend such portions of the backrest with the back support members 22, thereby giving the appearance of a unitary structure. This appearance is enhanced, of course, by finishing the back support member the same color and texture as the backrest.

Referring to FIGURE 4, the backrest has notched or channeled portions 42 along its lower side extending from the concave portion 40 inwardly toward the center of the backrest. Upwardly extending channels 44 are provided in the concave surfaces 40 from the lower side partway up the concave surfaces. The channeled surfaces are sized to receive the L-shaped brackets 26 which are welded to the inward facing, outer surface of each of the back support members 22. This construction hides the brackets from view to further enhance the appearance of the chair assembly.

As shown in FIGURE 3, the backrest is assembled with the back support by inserting the projections 34 into the upper end 36 of the tubular back support members. The concave surfaces 40 of the back support members matingly engage the tubular back support members. The back support bracket 26, which is fitted into the channels, provides an attaching means between the lower portion of the backrest and the back support members. A screw is positioned through a hole in the back support bracket 26 and is inserted into the lower side of the backrest.

The resulting structure provides an inexpensive chair simulating the appearance of wood, but not requiring the intricate hand carvings which would be necessary in a wood chair to provide the appearance of the backrest as shown, for example, in FIGURE 4. In addition, to the molding and finishing techniques, the use of plastic and metal as constructing materials is further hidden by the manner in which the chair is assembled.

While a particular embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described, it is apparent that changes and modifications may be made without departing from this invention in its broader aspects and, therefore, the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a chair having a rigid structure and including a seat, a molded plastic backrest, front and rear leg members, the improvement comprising: a pair of laterally spaced tubular members extending upwardly from said rear leg members to form supporting portions for said backrest, short downwardly extending, integrally molded members on the upper, outer edges of said backrest and having portions thereon sized for reception within the upper ends of said tubular members; and laterally extending integrally molded members on the lower outer edges of said backrest and having longitudinal concave surfaces for mating reception with the side of said upwardly extending tubular members.

2. In a chair having a rigid structure and including a seat, a molded plastic backrest, front and rear leg members, the improvement comprising: a pair of laterally spaced tubular members extending upwardly from said rear leg members to form supporting portions for said backrest, short downwardly extending, integrally molded members on the upper, outer edges of said backrest and having portions thereon sized for reception within the upper ends of said tubular members; and laterally extending integrally molded members on the lower outer edges of said backrest and having longitudinal concave surfaces formed at an angle to the vertical which corresponds with an angular arrangement of the upwardly extending tubular members for mating reception with the sides of sa d upwardly extending tubular members.

3. The chair of claim 2 and further including a bracket on each of said tubular members, the bracket having a portion extending laterally inwardly from said tubular members, and notched portions on the bottom side of said backrest for concealingly receiving the laterally extending bracket portions.

4. The chair of claim 3 wherein said brackets have a portion fastened to and extending longitudinally along the outer surface of said tubular members, and a notched portion on said concave surfaces for receiving the longitudinally extending bracket portions.

5. In a chair having a seat, front and rear leg members, and a pair of laterally spaced, upwardly extending backrest support members, the improvement comprising: a molded plastic backrest having short downwardly extending integrally molded members on the upper, outer edges of said backrest, said downwardly extending portions being sized for matingly engaging within upper ends of the backrest support members, and laterally extend-ing, integrally molded members on the lower, outer edges of said backrest, s-aid laterally extending members having longitudinally extending concave surfaces for matingly engaging with sides of the backrest support members, said concave surfaces and said sides of the backrest support members being complimentarily arranged to permit insertion of the backrest lengthwise of the support members until said downwardly extending portions matingly engage within upper ends of the backrest support members.

6. In a chair having a seat, front and rear leg members, and a pair of laterally spaced upwardly extend backrest support members, the improvement comprising: an integrally joined backrest having upper, spaced-apart portions respectively having means for telescopically coupling with the respective upper ends of the support members, and lower spaced-apart portions arranged to be slidingly disposed between said support members intermediate of their length, said lower portions having recesses, and means on said members sized for reception in said recesses for providing an interconnection.

7. A chair having a pair of laterally spaced, upwardly extending backrest members, a molded plastic backrest having upper, spaced-apart portions respectively having means for telescopically coupling with the respective upper ends of said backrest members, said backrest having a lower portion sized to be received between said backrest members, said lower portion being recessed relative to its lower face, a mechanical interlock for coupling said lower portion of said backrest to said backrest members comprising interlocking means attached on said backrest members, said interlocking means having surfaces engageable with the recessed surfaces of said lower portion for limiting movement of said lower portions relative to. said backrest members.

8. A chair having a pair of laterally spaced, upwardly extending backrest members, a molded plastic backrest having upper, spaced-apart portions respectively having means for telescopically coupling with the respective upper ends of said backrest members, said backrest having a lower portion sized to be received between said backrest members, said lower portion being recessed relative to its lower face, a mechanical interlock for coupling said lower portion of said backrest to said backrest members comprising interlocking means attached to said backrest members and located along the length of said backrest members so as to be received within the recessed part of said lower portion when said upper spaced-apart portions are telescopically coupled with the respective upper ends of said backrest members.

9. The chair of claim 8 wherein said interlocking means includes a fastening means for preventing upward movement of said backrest.

10. The chair of claim 7 and further including means for fastening said interlocking means to said backrest.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 208,465 9/1967 Parker Dl5-l D. 209,045 10/1967 Parker Dl5-l D. 210,010 1/1968 Stone Dl3-6 2,669,295 2/1954 Shepherdson 248- X 2,936,024 5/1960 Hendrickson 297239 3,159,428 12/1964 Schier 297452 3,240,460 3/1966 Petersen. 3,291,529 12/1966 Straits 297445 CASMIR A. NUMBERG, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

